Childhood Obesity and Sleep
Here are two related articles regarding the effects of lack of sleep on the bodyweight of children. First, Less Sleep Packs More Pounds on Young Children
Young children who sleep less than nine hours a night have triple the risk of being overweight and have about 3% more body fat than children who get nine hours or more.
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Sleep duration was shortest in summer and longest in winter, with sleep increasing in autumn and shortening in the spring (P<0.0001 compared with summer).
As I discussed in my review of Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar, and Survival, sleeping is very important to maintaining a proper weight. The hormones kicked off at night can only be had by sleeping in total darkness. I think this fact underscores the untruth behind “a calorie is a calorie” thinking even more. It shows how hormonal changes can change how the body processes inputs.
The change in sleep duration is to be expected. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors would have also slept more in autumn and fall, while sleeping less in spring and summer. Since fire, and later oil lanterns and electric lights, were expensive to keep burning (either in terms of resources or some actual monetary denomination), people would have gone to sleep and awakened with the sun.
We seem to have forgotten that we are, at the heart of it, just mere mammals. And just like all other mammals (all other animals in fact), our evolution was closely tied to the natural circadian rhythms of the world. That we can now control “the sun” with artificial light hasn’t changed the needs of the body.
And then: Reduced Sleep Can Increase Childhood Obesity Risk
Less sleep can increase a child’s risk of being overweight or obese, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Their analysis of epidemiological studies found that with each additional hour of sleep, the risk of a child being overweight or obese dropped by 9 percent.
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The recommended amount of daily sleep varied between studies analyzed and with children’s age. It is recommended that children under age 5 should sleep for 11 hours or more per day, children age 5 to10 should sleep for 10 hours or more per day, and children over age 10 should sleep at least 9 hours per day.
And there we have it, the recommended amount of sleep for children.
About Scott
Scott Kustes loves to cook and loves to eat. He started Real Food University to help you get maximum enjoyment out of the meals that you eat. To find out more about how he has rebelled against the fast food culture and counting calories or carbs, join the Real Food Revolution.
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